Brother Meng smiled and replied, “Yeah, I’m Tian Zhimeng. I heard from people in the village that you’d come to Shenzhen. Didn’t expect to run into you so coincidentally. What are you doing in this district? Why aren’t you staying with your aunt?”
Tian Tian didn’t know Brother Meng well at all. They were from the same village, but with an age gap of four or five years, they had never played together growing up.
Now that he was asking so earnestly, she didn’t think too much about it. She simply replied, “Yeah, what a coincidence.” As for the topic of staying with her aunt, she had no intention of answering.
Seeing that Tian Tian didn’t want to discuss it, Brother Meng frowned slightly.
The flip-flop vendor, seeing the conversation stall, immediately spoke up. “Oh, Comrade Xiao Tian, did you finish selling all those flip-flops?”
As he asked this, he was somewhat skeptical. Tian Tian was so young, and only one day had passed—there was no way she could have sold 500 pairs of flip-flops, right?
To his surprise, Tian Tian nodded directly. “That’s right! I came today to buy another 1,000 pairs.”
“Wait a minute, Old Liu. So she’s the pretty girl you told me about who bought 500 pairs of flip-flops?”
Old Liu laughed heartily. “Yeah, you said I was ripping her off. Look at that—she sold them all in a single day.”
After confirming this, Brother Meng’s expression shifted. His estimation of Tian Tian instantly rose a notch.
Tian Tian noticed his strange look. But since they were, after all, fellow villagers and had no conflicting interests, she ignored it for now and started haggling with Old Liu.
“No way, no way, Xiao Tian. Sixty cents a pair is already cheap enough. My cost price is 50 cents. You can’t expect me to make less than 10 cents a pair, right?”
“Boss Liu, that’s not how you look at it. Every day your goods sit unsold, you’re adding to your costs. All this merchandise is tying up both you and your money. Sell it sooner, free up your capital, and go chase a bigger deal.”
Old Liu sighed at that. “That’s exactly what you said yesterday too. But that big deal isn’t happening anytime soon for me. So there’s no rush to sell these flip-flops. I’ll still give them to you at 60 cents a pair, and that’s only because you’re buying in bulk and you’re a repeat customer.”
Hearing Old Liu say the big deal wasn’t happening, Tian Tian was puzzled. In her previous life, that wasn’t the case. She had only heard that someone had bought up Old Liu’s entire stock of flip-flops, and then he’d taken that money to buy a large batch of radios, heading back to his hometown city to make a fortune.
Of course, that was just hearsay. She never found out whether Old Liu actually struck it rich.
“Alright, fine.” At 60 cents a pair, she would still make a good profit. But after taking these 1,000 pairs, Tian Tian planned to switch to something else.
Zhou Haoting, who had been watching from the sidelines, came over and started helping Tian Tian count the flip-flops she had picked out.
Seeing this, Tian Tian wanted to say he didn’t need to, but he had already crouched down and started counting. So she didn’t stand on ceremony. Instead, she sped up her own movements. The two worked together remarkably well.
Brother Meng, watching from the side, finally confirmed the thought that had been forming in his mind.
So after Tian Tian had paid and picked up her goods and was about to leave, Brother Meng directly blocked her path.
Tian Tian frowned. “Brother Meng, do you need something?”
Brother Meng said, “Come. I have something to tell you—a word of advice.” Then he looked at Zhou Haoting. “This kid is your boyfriend, right? He should come listen too.”
Tian Tian said, “He’s not—”
Zhou Haoting said, “Alright.”
The two spoke at the same time, which made Brother Meng frown. “Tian Tian, is this kid reliable?”
“Brother Meng, just say what you need to say. I’ll help Tian Tian.”
Brother Meng now understood the dynamic between them. He stubbed out his cigarette and said, “Alright, kid, you’ve got guts. Follow me.”
Tian Tian and Zhou Haoting exchanged a glance. Though puzzled, they followed.
Then they heard a piece of news that left them speechless.
“Took a liking to me?” Tian Tian was full of question marks after hearing what Brother Meng had to say.
Tian Tian knew she was pretty. But someone taking a liking to her at first glance? That was too much. This was real life, not a TV drama.
Seeing that Tian Tian didn’t believe him, Brother Meng glanced at Zhou Haoting.
Zhou Haoting, however, did believe it. Wasn’t he himself drawn to Tian Tian the moment he saw her? She wasn’t just beautiful—there was a vibrant energy about her that made people feel good just looking at her.
After hearing what Brother Meng had said, he knew the warning was real.
“You’re from Hecheng, aren’t you?”
Brother Meng narrowed his eyes slightly. “I didn’t mention that just now.”
That was true. Just now, Brother Meng had only said that his boss had happened to see Tian Tian and might or might not do something about it. He hadn’t mentioned any syndicate. In fact, when he first ran into Tian Tian today, Brother Meng’s initial thought was to persuade her to leave Shenzhen—or at least leave this district. That was why he had brought up her aunt.
But after watching Tian Tian skillfully negotiate business with Old Liu, Brother Meng realized she wasn’t someone who could be easily bullied.
That was when he decided to lay his cards on the table.
His Hong Kong boss wasn’t a good person. If the boss had set his sights on someone else, Brother Meng wouldn’t have cared. But this was his relative—Uncle Tian’s daughter. He couldn’t just stand by.
Even if Brother Xiao had said it as a joke, Brother Meng felt it was better to be prepared.
Tian Tian had no idea about all the thoughts running through Brother Meng’s head. But the moment she heard Zhou Haoting say the word “Hecheng,” she fell silent.
She had heard of Hecheng in her previous life—a Hong Kong-funded company that had laundered itself into legitimacy. Rumor had it that the big boss was a womanizer who had a thing for young girls.
Meanwhile, Zhou Haoting was already negotiating with Brother Meng.
“You’re from Hecheng. So when you say someone ‘took a liking’ to her, do you mean Xiao Ming or your boss?”
Seeing that Zhou Haoting even knew about Brother Xiao, Brother Meng realized there was no point in hiding anything.
“It’s Brother Xiao. But everyone on the streets knows that Brother Xiao is our boss’s most loyal mad dog. He knows exactly what the boss likes. Every girl he sets his sights on eventually ends up with the boss.”
Zhou Haoting had heard these things before. He clenched his fists. A plan was already forming in his mind for dealing with Xiao Ming.
But Tian Tian cut in directly: “Would he dare to kidnap me off the street?”
Brother Meng shook his head. “Brother Xiao doesn’t use force. He uses this…”
He pointed to his head.
“As far as I know, every girl went willingly in the end.”
That was what made Brother Xiao so terrifying. Brother Meng considered himself smart, but the thing he feared most was a smiling fox like Brother Xiao.
Tian Tian clapped her hands. “If he’s not going to physically grab me, then I don’t need to worry too much.”
She wasn’t the type to bend. Threats and bribes meant nothing to her.
Of course, dealing with someone from the underworld, she still had to guard against violence.
Tian Tian’s mind was already racing through a dozen ways to handle the situation.
Brother Meng suggested, “You’d really be better off going to your aunt’s place. That district doesn’t have a checkpoint, and it’s mostly villages—outsiders stand out. You’d be safer living there.”
Tian Tian shook her head. She had come to Shenzhen to buy farmland. If she went to her aunt’s place, how was she supposed to buy land? She might as well pack up and go home to get married.
Zhou Haoting spoke up. “Brother Meng, thank you for the warning. As for what Tian Tian should do, I’ll discuss it with her carefully. Here’s my home phone number. If you hear anything, give us a call.”
After sending off Brother Meng, who still wanted to persuade her, Tian Tian turned to Zhou Haoting. “Thank you for everything today. But I think you and I need to have a proper conversation about a few things.”
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